China complains of US violating airspace
by Jim Sclutto and Raiph Ellis
(CNN)China has complained again that the United States violated its
sovereign territory by coming near artificial islands in the South China
Sea.
This time the problem occurred when a U.S. military flight strayed
into disputed airspace near the islands, a senior U.S. defense official
told CNN.
The United States did not intend to get within 12 nautical miles of
the land, the official said, and the flight was not part of a "freedom
of navigation" mission like the one that occurred in late October.
In that operation, the United States sent a warship, the USS Lassen,
close to one of China's artificial islands.
That put the vessel within an area that would be considered Chinese
sovereign territory -- if the United States recognized the islands as
being Chinese territory, a U.S. official told CNN in October.
"The action from the United States is a serious military provocation.
It complicates and even militarizes the regional situation in the South
China Sea. We demand the United States to take necessary actions to
prevent such events from happening, and avoid damages to the
military-to-military relations between the two countries," the ministry
said.
Speaking Friday about the most recent incident involving the U.S.
airplane, Bill Urban, a U.S. Defense Department spokesman, said the
flight was not meant to provoke the Chinese."There was no intention of
flying within 12 nautical miles of any feature," he said in a statement.
"This was not a freedom of navigation operation."
He said the United States routinely conducts B-52 training missions
over the South China Sea.
"These missions are designed to maintain readiness and demonstrate
our commitment to fly, sail and operate anywhere allowed under
international law," he said.
Tensions have ratcheted up since China reclaimed some 2,000 acres of
land in a massive dredging operation, turning sandbars into islands
equipped with airfields, ports and lighthouses. The work started in 2014
on three main reefs in the Spratly Islands -- Fiery Cross, Subi and
Mischief Reef. Chinese military confronts U.S. spy plane 06:20 The new
islands created friction with the United States, which sails and flies
its assets in the vicinity of the reclaimed islands, citing
international law and freedom of movement. Last May, the United States
flew over the islands, triggering warnings from the Chinese navy. In
October, the Lassen incident occurred.
When China complained, a Defense Department official told CNN: "We
will fly, sail and operate anywhere in the world that international law
allows. U.S. Freedom of Navigation operations are global in scope and
executed against a wide range of excessive maritime claims, irrespective
of the coastal state advancing the excessive claim."
China's neighbors complained about the islands, too. Brunei,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam all dispute sovereignty of
several island chains and nearby waters in the South China Sea.
- CNN
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